1000 Bike Show

The Classic Motorcycle Club is holding their annual 1000 Bike Show this weekend and the Vesparados decided to join the thousands of motorcycles descending on Germiston.

After a late start, we couldn't join the Vesparados for breakfast and a ride out to Germiston together so we headed out to join them an hour after the Vesparados planned leaving time. Arriving at the venue we were greeted by thousands as the famous Vespa brand was recognised and no bike show would be complete without the famous Italian marque. We were the only Vespa who arrived as I heard later that one of the Vesparados vintage Vespas broke down and they stopped for drinks while it was repaired before setting out for Germiston.

It was great when the Vesparados finally arrived as they drew a crowd and it was awesome to have my modern Vespa GTS300ie Super next to the 9 vintage Vespa models comprising of a number of PX150, Sprint, Rally, Primavera, and a beautifully restored Vespa 150 GTR so that the bikers could compare the differences. Sadly no Lambrettas arrived but maybe next time. There were many motorcycle clubs represented to support the Classic Motorcycle Club and as usual the Vesparados saved the day for Vespa as the modern Vespa South Africa with their VLV Social Club once again missed the boat.

I Love Egypt

This morning I joined a group of Vesparados for breakfast at Sofia Café in Greenside. It is here met the Vesparados Charl and Sandesh on their Vespa Sprints. We had an awesome morning sitting in the winter sun at Sofia enjoying a Vespa breakfast and coffee.

I found these two Vesparados interesting; Sandesh with his head scarf and blue tooth ear piece on his black Vespa Sprint covered with stickers including I Love Egypt and I Love JHB. And then there is Charl wearing his brown leather jacket on his beat up but perfectly original silver Vespa Sprint. The Vesparados, a tough bunch of Vespa lovers.

Scooter Rally at Hartbeespoort Dam

It all started this morning with coffee at Scoots in Fourways and a phone call to get Bruce out of bed at 08:30. Five intrepid riders set out to join SA Scooters' 4th Scooter Rally through the small town of Hartebeespoort which is situated next to the dam wall of Hartebeespoort Dam. From left to right in the above photo is myself representing the Posers SC on the black Vespa ET4, Bruce from Aces SC on the copper plated Vespa P200E, Shawn from Vesparados SC on black Vespa Sprint, John on a silver LML Star Deluxe and Joe from Aces SC on a cream Lambretta TV175.

We set out on a leisurely ride north, had breakfast at a bikers dive then joined about 300 other scooters for the ride through Harties which ended up at a resort just outside the town. Here the SA Scooters had organized scooter soccer, a barrel race, a slowest race, a longest wheelie, an oval race and the most beautiful scooter competition. Two other Posers from Pretoria, Charlie on a Vespa GT250 and her husband Dudley on a Vespa P200E, joined us at Harties just before the mass ride. There weren’t as many scooters as last year but there were many more Vespas this time with our numbers boosted by about 10 Vespas from Roodepoort.

The funniest yet scariest part of our ride into the country side was right at the beginning when we stopped at a fuelling station Broadaces Shopping Centre and the attendant started filling Bruce's P200E not into the tank but into a hole in the frame. With about approximately three litres of fuel flowing over the engine and hot exhaust onto the floor before the attendant realized his mistake.

After the scooter rally Bruce, Shawn and Joe headed for a B&B near Skeerpoort while Charlie and Dudley returned to Pretoria and John and I back to Johannesburg. I'll post some images onto a Facebook album soon.

Scoots

There is a new kid on the block, well not so new if you see their toys. Scoots.mobi is a Vespa, LML and Lambretta scooter shop right here in Fourways. They specialize in the real retro and go for the Mod look. They sell, restore and repair the ever so popular two stroke scooters. The partners of Scoots, Bruce and Shaun, invited the Posers Scooter Club, that is us, to join the Aces and Vesparados Scooter Clubs for breakfast at Sofia in Greenside and then ride with them to a vintage car show in Melrose.

Eleven scooters left Scoots for Greenside along a windy route and arriving at Sofia we joined twelve other Vespas and Lambrettas already there waiting for us. After the greetings and introductions out of the way we sat down for a simple breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, chips, toast and coffee for only costing R25. Then ten vintage Vespas, five modern Vespas, five vintage Lambrettas, two LMLs and a lone Big Boy set off for Melrose to check out the vintage cars and we sure made an entrance with heads turning as our motley group entered.

After the hard work of scootering around Magda easily convinced our eleven scooters to grab a pint at Melrose Arch. The Posers sure made many new friends today and we were thankful for the Aces and Vesparados for allowing us to join them on the ride. For more photos see my Facebook album Aces, Posers and Vesparados.